Make your own Moleskine!

By Jade MillerQuailBellMagazine.com

A story idea. A beautiful moment needing to be captured in verse. A beautiful stranger with eyes that beg to be sketched. These are the reasons that writers, poets and artists all carry some sort of notebook--to have a safety net to keep all those ideas snug and close by. Now the go-to, trendy journal of the times is a Moleskine. However, a writer or starving artist does not always have the cash on hand to purchase a name brand. Quail Bell will not fail you! Here's a tutorial on how to make a knockoff Moleskin with a cereal box and some paper:

By Rachel Jones

You'll need:

cereal box

paper (8 pages for a 16 page journal)

thread

paper cutter or scissors

painter's tape

sewing machine

rounded corner punch (optional)

Steps:

Cut your cardboard down to the size you want your book. (10''x14'' makes a 5''x7'' book).

Cut your paper down to size as well. To have your papers align when you fold the book. Stagger the papers with the innermost pieces going in towards the middle some and the outermost pieces lying closer to the cover. You need to cut all the paper a bit shorter than the cover because the cardboard is thicker than the paper and takes up more space in the bend of the spine.

Round the corners with the punch if you'd like.

Score the cereal box down the center using a ruler and scissors

Place the plain side of the cereal box face up and tape the cardboard and the paper together with the painter's tape.

With the sewing machine tension set to low, slowly stitch long stitches along the scored line.

Fold over and remove the tape, placing the notebook under a heavy book overnight to press flat.